The most significant difference between athens and sparta was that

I think Spatra was rather xenofobic, while Athens were open to foreigners.

"Non nobis Domine, non nobis, se Nomine tuo da gloriam"

Regards M.Y.

Sparta had a more warrior mindset in that their military could pretty much solve any and all foreign problems. With their leaders being natural born fighters. They were also very xenophobic in that they did not embrace other cultures at all

Athens on the other hand was a very democratic society. Leaders were natural born politicians and were elected or chosen into office. They leaned more towards learning about culture and the arts than military. Most of their military were just common men with little to no training.